Gary was a miner at Sutton Manor Colliery for 19 years before getting made redundant in 1991. He worked initially underground on the coalface before transferring to the pit surface and eventually into the colliery management. 'My life at the Manor' tells the story of growing up in a mining family, the working conditions his forefathers endured, the injuries and the ill health. But also about the camaraderie and close-knit communities that this bred. He will reflect on how his working life was mapped out for a totally different occupation and the fortune of a chance meeting that shaped a career in mining. The tale tells of the humour and heartache, the strike of 1985, its aftermath and finally the closure of the mine.

The colliery closed in 1991 even though there was still a great deal of coal which had not been mined.  In 2009, Gary was one of the ex-miners involved in the installation of the imposing Dream sculpture on the site of the colliery which celebrates the coalfield’s history. The twenty-foot white structure represents a girl with closed eyes, an emblem of hope for what the future may bring.